President Biden’s administration is preparing to enforce a new rule that would greatly expand the number of people who sell firearms who are required to carry out background checks on buyers
The administration rule would apply to thousands of dealers who make sales at gun shows and other venues outside traditional gun stores.
“This is going to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and felons,” Biden said in a statement. “And my administration is going to continue to do everything we possibly can to save lives. Congress needs to finish the job and pass universal background checks legislation now.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland offered details on the new rule on Wednesday. He said anyone who sells a firearm predominantly for profit must be federally registered and conduct a background check on the customer.
The administration predicts that the rule will force some 20,000 firearms dealers to start conducting background checks, on top of the 80,000 federally-registered dealers that were already doing so.
While Biden’s administration says it is confident the rule is legal, it is nevertheless a prime target for legal challenges by gun rights groups. As of Thursday morning, however, no legal challenges had been filed.
